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Notley buoyed by Trudeau decision on B.C. LNG project: Steward

Alberta premier hopes natural gas pipeline approval will lead to federal support for oil pipeline to B.C. coast

Catherine McKenna, front right, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, speaks while flanked by Jim Carr, from left to right, Minister of Natural Resources, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, after the federal government announced approval of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, at the Sea Island Coast Guard Base, in Richmond, B.C., on Sept. 27. (DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Alberta premier Rachel Notley received some good news last week, news that buoyed her hopes that the Trudeau government will soon approve a controversial pipeline that will ship heavy diluted bitumen from Alberta to the southern coast of B.C.

Notley’s rising optimism came with the federal government’s approval — with 190 conditions — of a $36 billion mega-project on B.C’s northern coast that would liquefy natural gas for export by tanker to Asia.

“We’re encouraged that the federal government appears to be rolling up its sleeves to try to sort of navigate a path toward … an important combination for sustainable economic growth while ensuring you address environmental issues,” she told The Calgary Herald.

The B.C. project — Pacific Northwest LNG — would ship natural gas via a 900-km pipeline from B.C’s plentiful natural gas fields in the north east of the province to Lelu Island near Prince Rupert on the northwest coast, where it would be cooled and liquefied so it can be more easily transported over long distances.

The oil pipeline that Notley hopes will get federal approval — Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion — has become a potent symbol for the Alberta premier. If built, more of Alberta’s oil will be sold to Asian customers, earning billions of dollars for both the petroleum industry and the provincial treasury.

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But the pipeline is also seen as a test of the NDP government’s ability to get pipelines on track after conservatives at both the provincial and federal level flunked the job.

A succession of Alberta premiers, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper seemed to think they could simply push pipelines through walls of opposition in other provinces. But that strategy got them nowhere.

Notley, on the other hand, decided to play nice. She introduced a climate change plan, which included a coal phase-out, a carbon levy and a cap on oilsands greenhouse gas emissions.

She reasoned if environmentalists and First Nations in other provinces see Alberta is doing its bit to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions they would be more likely to support, or at least soften, their opposition to oil pipelines.

Notley’s plan also happened to fit nicely with Justin Trudeau’s plans for a national strategy to reduce green house gases. They have become firm allies when it comes to climate change policies. More than once Trudeau has held up particulars of Alberta’s plan as examples of what other provinces should do.

The main investor in the B.C. liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is Petronas, Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas multinational. But while the approval gives them a green light, Petronas is holding its cards close to its chest. The conditions have to be examined in detail to see if they can be met and how much that would cost. Petronas also has to figure out if the project is still financially viable given the low price of LNG.

Despite B.C. premier Christy Clark’s enthusiastic and long standing promotion of this project it may never be built.

But Notley isn’t interested in the eventual fate of the B.C. project. She sees the federal government’s green light as a strong sign that Kinder Morgan’s expanded pipeline from Alberta to B.C. will also be approved, despite strong opposition from First Nations, environmentalists and the mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby.

They simply don’t see the LNG project as environmentally sustainable as Notley does. The Pembina Institute, the Dogwood Initiative, and Greenpeace have all condemned it because it will spew carbon emissions, endanger salmon and coastal waters.

Some First Nations affected by the project are on board but others are not, so there are likely to be court challenges.

Of course, Premier Christy Clark is thrilled to pieces. And there is no question Trudeau needs her on side if he is to successfully negotiate a national climate change strategy.

It’s clear Trudeau would rather alienate First Nations and environmentalists than premiers of powerful provinces he wants to be able to count as allies.

His cabinet’s decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline is due no later than December.

No one has more at stake with that decision than Rachel Notley.

Gillian Steward is a Calgary writer and former managing editor of the Calgary Herald. Her column appears every other week. gsteward@telus.net

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